In Memoriam: Bernice Frankel Aurthur (AKA Bea Arthur), 1922-2009

[thatcrazycajun]

Another TV icon of my childhood is gone. Actress Beatrice "Bea" Arthur, best known as Maude Findlay from the CBS TV sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and later as Dorothy Zbornak on NBC's The Golden Girls, died earlier today at her Los Angeles, CA home of cancer, just two weeks shy of her 87th birthday; Reuters reports her obituary here.

Bea's Maude was one of the first overtly feminist characters I recall seeing on TV, who gave as good as she got and better—to the late Carroll O'Connor's bigoted, homophobic, chauvinist Archie Bunker; to the Findlays' sassy maid Florida Evans, played by the late Esther Rolle; to her long-suffering husband Walter, played by Bill Macy ("God will get you for that, Walter..."); and just about everyone else who crossed her path. I never watched TGG much, so I can't really speak to her portrayal of Dorothy; but what I did see of it led me to think that Dorothy was probably very similar to what Maude would have been like in her later years. And I regret never having seen her in her dozens of Broadway and off-Broadway plays, including the original productions of The Threepenny Opera, Fiddler on the Roof and Mame. (She won a Tony Award for the latter; it's hard to believe she never won an Emmy to go with it, though the TV Academy did put her in its Hall of Fame.) CORRECTION: The Academy's database search webpage lists Bea as a two-time Emmy winner: once for Maude in 1977 and again for The Golden Girls in 1988, both as Lead Actress/Comedy. I apologize for the error; that's what I get for using Wikipedia as a primary source.)

Thanks, ma'am, and so long. And my heart goes out to her two sons and grandchildren who survive her. God won't have to get you now—she will. So watch what you say and do, guys...

Comments

[mshollie.livejournal.com]

I believe Bea Arthur won two Emmys: one for Maude, the other for The Golden Girls.

[thatcrazycajun.livejournal.com]

If that's true, Wikipedia's page on her needs correcting; it lists no Emmys at all.

[mshollie.livejournal.com]

The info I got was according to CNN's obit. According to that, Ms. Arthur won two Emmys: one for Maude, the other for Golden Girls.

[mshollie.livejournal.com]

CNN's obit is here:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/25/bea.arthur.obit/index.html

[gorgeousgary]

There are a series of DVD's titled Broadway's Lost Treasures; Volume 2 has one of her performances from Mame. They are Netflix-able, among other sources.

The DVDs give glimpses of other dearly departed at their Broadway best, notably Jerry Orbach.

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

Of all the lines she ever spoke that were heard by the public, the one I'll always remember is (hopefully): "The way he sees and the way she looks, it's a perfect match!" (as Yente, the Matchmaker, in the original "Fiddler on the Roof")